This week we head back in the comic time machine to 1978, to pick up the third issue of Target comic, a poorly produced comic published by Polystyle Publications. It cost 10p, which wasn't cheap, but you did get five pages of (just-about) full colour, plus the strips were based on popular television shows, so the licence might have pushed up the price.
I've already covered an issue of Target before (which you can read here), so I'll try to show strips here that I didn't show last time. That means I'll start with the strip Hazell, which was a new television programme at the time of this comics release, but the strip is well drawn and written, much better than other strips in the comic.
I showed this last time, but I do like the artwork on Kojak so I'll show it again. Most strips in British comics were no longer than two pages long a week, and Kojak's strip is the longest in the comic, a grand four pages of him! The artist is Jon Davis.
Cannon In Danger Rig is the shortest strip in Target, at just two pages long it is quick compared to every other story in the comic. This was based on the television series Cannon, which had actually ended over two years earlier, but I suppose they must have seen it as a suitable programme to use, after all it did run for a good five years.
This comic ends with a two-page article about Kojak star Telly Savalas.
8 comments:
The Cannon strip was a reprint from TV Action.
I vaguely remember seeing this on the shelves, I passed it up at the time, which is something I regret a little now because I love the Hazel strip. It actually captures the feel of the TV series really well. 10p seems much too pricey which is probably why I balked.
Charlie's Angels look awful in those colours on the cover!!
@ Lew - I thought it was a weird strip to choose because the show had ended two years earlier. I suppose that explains it.
@ DeadEyeSpider - Despite the fact it was so cheaply made and the colouring is terrible, I like this comic for some reason. 10p was a lot for a comic at the time though, so it's no surprise it didn't last. Maybe you can find yourself a few issues on ebay?
@ Peter - The colouring is awful isn't it!
Cannon may have ended two years earlier, but it was probably still being repeated in some regions for quite a while afterwards. That would explain the reprint.
Incidentally, I gave the first three issues to a pal back in 1979 or '80. Over 30 years later he gave me them back, so I now still have the ones I bought all those years ago.
Sounds like your pal is a slow reader!
I have uploaded the full set of TARGET on the Mag a Zone website for your enjoyment.
Sadly, Mag@Zone comics section is down :-( Have you posted these anywhere else?
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